Star Theater

114 N. Main Street,

Sand Springs,
OK74063

Used to go to this theater more often than to the Harmony. In junior high my girl friends and I would go on Saturday afternoons and see the serials they ran and then the feature movie. When they ran horror movies, I’d hide under my coat or sweater and my friends would let me know when it was A&E to watch again…sometimes…other times they’d tell my it was OK when it wasn’t. They got a big kick from that.

In 1939,I took my first date to the Star theater. I was seven years old and she was six. I remember, we shared a
popcorn and each had a drink. I don’t remember what the movie was about but I do remember how pretty my date was.

Judging from the interior photos linked earlier, I’d have guessed that the Star Theatre had at least 600 seats. The side section in this photo shows at least 28 rows with six seats per row, so the two side sections alone must have seated over 300, and the center section was probably about the size of the two side sections put together. Perhaps they removed every other row sometime late in the theater’s history.

When I was three, I walked downtown from 6th street to my uncle’s barber shop next door to the Star. He would cut my hair and give me 20 cents change. I would go next door to the Star and for 10 cents would watch movies and eat candy and popcorn until I couldn’t. Then I would walk across the street past the “Rathole” to my aunts cafe, Bob’s Cafe. I’d sit on the counter and talk to the customers. Many would not be able to pay so my aunt put their ticket in a Roi-Tan cigar box. When they had some money, they would come in and she would pull their tickets out of the cigar box and they’d pay their bill. those were the days, when a three year old could walk around without any reason to fear.

From this sad photograph of a neglected auditorium inside the Star Theatre, I can’t help but wonder if this theatre was a member of Griffith Amusement. I’ve been told by more than one source that, while Griffith usually kept their theatre facades in tip-top condition, they refused to buget enough money for upkeep of their theatre interiors.http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/B7803.jpg

The Star Theatre Building was a wonderful example of glass block streamline. The Sand Bar had cozy booths surrounding a star shaped bar situated in the center of an azure lighted room. All together it was a striking design to spend a night out on the night.